


50 Swan Queen Prompts

by bi_swan_trash



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F, Prompt Fic, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-23
Updated: 2020-05-11
Packaged: 2021-02-28 17:15:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 50
Words: 18,924
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23280820
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bi_swan_trash/pseuds/bi_swan_trash
Summary: 50 prompts from tumblr. They're all one-shots. Some of them are just daily Emma/Regina. Others, they are all ready together. It's just whatever came to mind through the prompt*. :)*The prompt is the chapter title. Rated T for suggestiveness.
Relationships: Evil Queen | Regina Mills/Emma Swan
Comments: 166
Kudos: 155





	1. Come over here and make me!

**Author's Note:**

  * For [omunk](https://archiveofourown.org/users/omunk/gifts).



> BIG shout out to omunk. She's been one of my rocks during this wild quarantine time and she pushes me to do/finish things I've set aside for years.
> 
> I'll be posting one prompt a day for 50 days.

It was a, surprisingly, boring day in Storybrooke. Emma was swamped with paperwork, so to help along their friendship, Regina brought her lunch. She decided that the blonde sheriff had done it enough for her, and it was time she returned the favor. When she entered the sheriff's station, she greeted Emma with a warm smile.

"Good afternoon, Miss Swan."

"Afternoon," Emma mumbled, hardly looking up from her work. Regina raised an eyebrow.

"Apparently I am paying you for good work, but your manners could use some of your attention," Regina quipped. Emma gave her face. "I brought you lunch." Regina waved the bag in front of Emma's face. She softened.

"Thanks, Regina," she said, taking the bag, "I'm sorry. I'm just really trying to get this paperwork done. I'm a bit behind because of all the shit that keeps happening lately." Regina nodded.

"Yes, today is relatively quiet. Gives everyone time to catch up on things such as overdue paperwork," she gave Emma a pointed look. Emma grabbed a rubber band off of her desk and flung it at Regina. It hit her in the shoulder. Taking advantage of her opponent being stunned, Emma shot another one, hitting Regina in the chest.

"Miss Swan, if you know what's good for you, you will desist immediately."

"Come over here and make me!" Emma challenged. Regina gave a little grin before summoning all of the rubber bands from her office and dumping them on Emma's head. She gave a hearty laugh-- one Emma hadn't heard much of at all-- causing Emma to laugh, too.

"All right, you win this round," Emma relented.

"I always win, Dear," Regina said with a smile.


	2. Have you lost your damn mind?!

"Mom isn't gonna like this," Henry said warily, "she told us to wait for the handyman."

"Come on, kid. I lived on my own forever and do you think I had the money to call a _handyman_ every time something went wrong?" Emma asked.

"I guess not," Henry replied, frowning, "but Mom is really particular about--" he was cut off by his birthmother dropping the windowpane she had been attempting to replace and nearly falling off of the ladder in the process. Suddenly, Emma head the click of stiletto heels.

"Have you lost your damn _mind_?!" Regina yelled. Damn it. Emma climbed down the ladder as Henry scurried inside, not wishing to be caught in the middle of a fight.

"I was trying to do it before you got home. I didn't want you to have to call a handyman. I'm really sorry, I'll pay for the damage," Emma apologized quickly. Regina stopped, a flash of confusion and then understanding crossed her face.

"Emma, I'm not mad about the glass," she told her, "you could've gotten hurt. I watched you almost fall off of that ladder." She pulled Emma into a tight hug. At first Emma resisted, but then she melted into the hug--happy to have someone who cared.


	3. Please, don't leave.

Regina thrashed as she had another nightmare about Emma becoming The Dark One. It was the 4th time this week she woke up drenched in sweat and tangled in her bedsheets. As she sat up quickly she noticed a figure in her room.

"Who's there?" she demanded. Emma stepped out of the shadows.

"You called me," she told Regina.

"I didn't call-"

"You were at least calling my name," Emma said, smirking.

"I'd do no such-"

"Don't try to deny it, I've been standing here long enough to know," Emma informed her. Regina was glad that it was dark in her room, because she was blushing a deep red.

"It was nothing. A dream is all," she confessed quietly. There was a flicker in The Dark One's eyes and Regina was convinced she saw Emma in that flicker.

"I see," was all she said as she was poised to leave.

"Wait!" Regina cried, throwing out a hand. Emma turned, "please, don't leave." Emma seemed to be taken aback, but she then nodded and slipped into bed with Regina. She took Regina into her arms, rubbing soothing circles over her back.

"Never."


	4. Do you... well... I mean... could I give you a massage?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't go back to work until May 4th, so I'm dying a little. (:

Regina had been wincing every once in awhile as she and the Savior sat in her vault and read up and strategized about this week's terror. Emma hadn't said anything, but she could no longer watch the mayor suffer in silence.

"Regina?" she called, tentatively.

"What, Miss Swan?" she snapped.

"Do you... well... I mean... could I give you a massage?" Emma asked.

"What?" Regina asked in confusion.

"I've been told that I give pretty good massages and you look like you could use one," Emma offered. Regina hesitated, mulling it over. She hadn't slept right last night and her neck and back were killing her this morning.

"All right," she relented. Emma stood and went around, behind Regina. She started with Regina's shoulders, using her thumbs and elbow to press into the knots in her back.

"Could you stand?" Emma asked, "and just lean against this counter." Regina tensed, hesitating to get so personal with the Savior. Emma noticed this and attempted to reassure her, "just so I can do a more thorough job." Slowly, Regina stood and leaned onto the counter. Emma stepped up and got close, but not close enough for them to touch. Regina tried to ignore her body's frustration at the close, but not close enough proximity. Emma worked her way down Regina's back. Regina stayed silent until she reached Regina's lower back and she let out a low moan. She felt Emma's hands hesitate, but--to her credit-- she didn't stop until she was done. When she was done, she stepped back and Regina's body protested at the lack of contact.

"Sorry if I-" Regina cut her off.

"Just shut up, Emma," Regina growled as she turned around and pulled Emma into an intense kiss. When they broke apart, Emma could hardly speak.

"Wow... I... wow," Emma breathed. Regina smirked.

"I'm glad I could render you speechless Miss Swan."

"You may render me speechless any time," Emma replied, settling her her hands on the former queen's lower back. Regina shivered--anticipation creeping up her spine.


	5. Wait a minute, are you jealous?

It was dinnertime at Granny’s and Emma and Hook were competing in a game of darts, with Hook in the lead.

"Goddammit!" Emma swore, "you've had way more time to practice than I have."

"Don't worry, love. You'll catch up to me one day," he flashed her one of his charming smiles. Emma rolled her eyes at his comment and concentrated on her next shot. She ended up losing in the end and owed Killian a drink.

"What do you want?" Emma asked, pulling out her wallet. Just then, Regina walked in and sat down at the counter in her usual seat.

"What if you owe me a drink some other time?" Killian said in a low voice. Emma heard someone scoff. She turned and saw none other than Regina Mills making a face at the water she was just given. She shook it off. Killian was just trying to get them to go on a date... why would Regina care? She turned back to Killian.

"I guess that's okay," she told him shrugging, "when?"

"How about tomorrow?" he asked. Emma groaned internally.

"Okay," she agreed. Emma then heard heels clicking out of the diner and the door open. She turned with just enough time to see Regina leaving. "Well, see you tomorrow, then," she smiled at Killian and left. She caught up to Regina just as she was about to get into her car. "Hey."

"Oh, good evening, Miss Swan. Where's the handless wonder? I thought you were out on a date," Emma could hear the distain in Regina's voice.

"Hook? No, we were just playing darts," Emma informed her.

"Looked more like drinking, if you ask me," Regina bit back. Why was she being so angry?

"He won," Emma said, shrugging.

"So you let him _buy_ your attention?" Regina quipped.

"What? Regina, why does-- why do you even care?" Emma realized how it sounded, but Regina was being stubborn.

"Is it unhealthy to care about what happens to my son's other mother?" Regina asked.

"There's more than that, Regina... wait a minute, are you jealous?" Regina's eyes widened.

"how could you even insinuate-"

"Just admit it."

"I'll do no such thing."

"Then why did you leave?"

"I decided I wasn't hungry."

"Regina," Emma sighed, "you're such a stubborn ass sometimes!"

"Oh, _I'm_ the stubborn ass?" Regina shot, "why don't you just drop it?"

"Because you're deflecting."

"Oh my god, Emma, just-" Tired of her denying it, Emma surged forward, pressing their lips firmly together. Regina jerked back in surprise but did not break the kiss. Instead, she tangled her fingers in Emma's hair and deepened the kiss. Finally, the kiss broke.

"So. What was that about not being jealous?"


	6. Is there a reason you're naked in my bed?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for this being so late in the day! Guess I was just stuck on the fact that today is day 14 of quarantine for me and yet I still have approximately 5 more weeks of it! (:

Emma's head hurt, and her nose was stuffy, and her throat was scratchy. She coughed as she felt the cool air on her skin. She had been burning up last night and couldn't bring herself to put on any pjs. She nuzzled back into her pillow, which for some reason faintly smelled like Regina.

"Miss Swan..." was Emma dreaming, too? Was she _that_ delirious?

"Emma!" Emma's eyes popped open. She wasn't imagining that.

"Regina?"

"Is there a reason you're naked in my bed?" Emma surveyed her surroundings. She was indeed laying naked in Regina's bed, Regina sitting up next to her, alarmed at her presence.

"I don't know," Emma said, her voice stuffy and her head swimming. She could see Regina's face melt into concern as she felt Emma's forehead. Her hand was cool to Emma's hot skin.

"You're burning up, Emma," Regina said quietly.

"Yeah," was all Emma could muster.

"Were you... were you thinking of me before you went to bed?" Regina asked.

"Um... maybe a bit..." in truth, Emma had been thinking about Regina at length. Wishing that she was there to cuddle her and help her get well again. Regina nodded slowly.

"Due to your illness, you magic may have sensed that, transporting you here."

"I can try to poof back-"

"No, Emma. That might cause more damage. You can stay here. I'll inform Mary Margaret. Is there anything I can do for you?" Regina asked.

"Can you... just stay here for a bit?" Emma asked in small voice. Regina got up and riffled through her drawers and pulled out a t-shirt.

"If you put this on, yes," Regina agreed. Emma slowly put the t-shirt on and Regina situated herself so that Emma's head would be in her lap. She ran her fingers through the blonde's sweaty locks until she could hear Emma's breathing even out.


	7. I almost lost you.

For weeks Regina was distraught. Mary Margaret and David took Henry to ease the burden and to make sure the boy was receiving proper care. No one could get ahold of Emma... The Dark One was out of commission for now. Finally, four weeks after Emma sacrificed herself, she appeared in Regina's house. She didn't poof straight into her room, because she felt like that was violating privacy. While she was The Dark One, just as the power consumed him slowly, so it did to her— she still had manners. She climbed the stairs and knocked on the door.

"Whoever it is, please, just leave me be," Regina said feebly. Emma turned the handle and cracked the door open a few inches.

"Regina," she called softly. Regina stiffened. This had to be her mind playing tricks on her.

"E-Emma?" she asked in a shaky voice. Emma came into the room, taking that as an invitation. She sat on the side of the bed closest to Regina. Regina reached a trembling hand out and touched Emma's cheek. "It's really you."

"It's really me," Emma confirmed.

"Where have you been?" Regina asked.

"As far away as I could get," Emma confessed, "I've been able to resist the calls you sent out because the darkness hadn't seeped in and consumed me quite so much. However now, all of those calls are being collected. So, here I am."

"Why did you resist?" Regina demanded.

"I couldn't bear for anyone, especially you and Henry, to see me like this. Not until you could figure out how to take it out," Emma said softly.

"Oh, Emma," Regina breathed, "we just wanted to make sure you were all right. And I--we all--missed you."

"I missed you too, Regina," Emma said, ignoring that she had added 'we'. She cupped Regina's cheek as Regina shivered at the touch. She stroked Regina's face with her thumb and Regina leaned into it, sighing. Emma scooted closer as Regina wrapped her arms around Emma's neck. Regina gazed into emerald eyes before closing her own eyes and leaning in. She felt Emma's gentle lips moving against her own. She flitted her tongue lightly over Emma's bottom lip and Emma moaned in response. When they broke apart, the last of the dark tendrils were leaving Emma's body. Regina started to tear up.

"I almost lost you," Regina whispered.

"And now you'll never have to."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope the TLK was obvious enough lol


	8. Wanna bet?

"I could go longer than you."

"Regina, I doubt it. You wouldn't have that much stamina."

"Is stamina really the right word, Dear?"

"Maybe not."

"It still stands that could go longer."

"Wanna bet?"

"Fine."

"Five bucks if I win."

"And if I win, Miss Swan?"

"You name it."

"Deal."

"Ruby, count us down," Emma said, as she and Regina started their breath holding competition. Regina ended up outlasting Emma. Not by much, but she still won.

"All right, you win. What's your prize, Madame Mayor?"

Regina leaned in close to Emma's ear and whispered in a low voice, "tonight. My place. You can see how long I last in other activities if you like." She then winked and left a stunned Emma as she exited the diner; Ruby waving her hands in Emma's face, trying to get her to spill what the former queen had said.


	9. Don't you ever do that again!

Emma charged at the Snow Queen's giant monster. Regina had told her to wait, but she didn't have time for this. She hit it with a blast of her magic. It stumbled, but it quickly recovered, whipped around, and whacked Emma with it's shield. Emma flew back into a tree. She tried to stand, but her vision was fuzzy and she started to wobble. She was caught by nimble hands. She felt the healing powers that were emanating from Regina's hands.

"I told you to wait," Regina yelled.

"It was closing in too fast!" Emma spat back.

"Enough, let's finish this," Regina growled. The two banded together and defeated the monster.

"There. Nice and-"

"Don't you ever do that again!" Regina scolded.

"I just though I could-" she was cut off again.

"This is not the time for you to play hero! Something could've happened to you," Regina exclaimed.

"You were worried about me?" Emma ask in puzzlement.

"I- for Henry's sake," Regina answered, flustered. Emma smirked.

"Uh huh. Whatever you say."


	10. Teach me how to play?

Emma opened the door to Regina's mansion. They had arranged to have a family dinner tonight, but she had knocked a few times and was concerned when there was no answer. When she entered the house, she heard music right away. She started toward the melodic sound and found Regina at the piano. She looked around the room for Henry, but he must have still been in his room. She listened to the song and found that it was _All of Me_ by John Legend. Emma leaned against the doorframe and waited until the song was over.

Regina gave a contented sigh. She turned around and jumped at the sight of Emma.

"Emma! I- how long have you been standing there?" Regina demanded.

"Long enough. Where's Henry?" Emma asked.

"He's late from the twins' house," she replied, trying to hide the blush creeping up her neck.

"Teach me how to play?" Regina was shocked.

"Wha- to play?" She stuttered. Emma nodded. Regina motioned for her to sit next to her, "I tried to teach Henry when he was younger, but he didn't have the patience." Emma smirked.

"Sorry, he got that from me," Emma confessed.

"Am I going to have a hard time with you as my pupil then, too?" Regina asked with a grin. Emma shook her head.

"As long as I'm with you, I could sit for hours."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've loved the song "All of Me" since late 2013. I highly suggest it if you've never heard it. ^_^


	11. Don't you dare throw that snowball--goddammit!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry these things either come out at noon or midnight, there's no in-between lol.

Winter in Storybrooke always brought lots of snow. One morning, Regina awoke to find her girlfriend and their son outside building a snow fort.

"How long have you two been out here?" she asked.

"Oh, half and hour, maybe?" Emma answered. Suddenly, a snowball hit Emma in the back. "You're gonna get it now, kid!”

Henry screeched with delight as Emma pursued him with a good sized snowball. Regina watched as Emma wrestled him to the ground. Then, Henry whispered something in Emma's ear and motioned to _her_. Emma grinned and packed some snow. She charged at Regina with no sign of slowing.

"Don't you dare throw that snowball--goddammit!" Regina swore as the snowball hit the crook of her neck, leaving her shivering. Emma and Henry erupted into a fit of giggles. "You think that's funny, huh? Just you wait." Emma and Henry stopped laughing as Regina came at them with two huge snowballs she had conjured up.

"Run, kid! Save yourself!" Emma yelled to Henry as she ran at Regina, effectively sacrificing herself and being pummeled with both of the snowballs. Henry came back to help his mom dig Emma out.

"Emma?" She called, a bit of concern in her voice when she couldn’t locate Emma immediately.

"White flag, I surrender to the queen," Emma said as she started to sit up. Henry giggled and Regina smiled.

"I'll go start some hot cocoa."


	12. I think we need to talk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some partner soothing in this time of pandemic lol

Emma was sitting in the sheriff's station, still trying to regain a sense of normalcy.

She and Regina had only just begun to start dating after the group was able to pull the darkness out of her and trap it in Merlin's staff. She had done some things she wasn't proud of as The Dark One, but Regina reminded her that she too had a past, so they went out on a date, which turned into a few dates and progressed from there.

It was lunch time and Regina had been volunteering recently to bring lunch for the both of them to the station. She walked in with a business-like expression and said, "I think we need to talk.”

Emma's eyes went wide and she tensed up in panic. ”Did I do something wrong? I forgot to do something, didn't I? Oh god, Regina I'm so sorry, whatever it is I can do better," Emma pleaded. She had grown increasingly attached to Regina, her being the other thing that could calm Emma's nightmares most of the time.

Regina looked at her in confusion and then to concern. "Oh no, Emma!" She exclaimed, setting down their food and rounding the desk to hold Emma's hands, "I'm not breaking up with you." Emma's tension eased a little. "I am so sorry. I meant we need to talk about this town plan I brought with me.”

Emma's shoulders collapsed in as the rest of the tension left her body. "I'm sorry. I-“

Regina leaned forward and kissed her forehead. "No, I should've realized what you might think."

"I still have nightmares about all the horrible things I've done."

"I know.” Regina attempted to soothe her by rubbing her thumb over the top of Emma's hand. “But I'll always be here."


	13. Kiss me.

The annual Christmas party was going well until Emma and Regina backed into each other. Even that wouldn't have been bad--because they'd been getting along fairly well recently--except they backed into each other right under the mistletoe.

"Ooh, you two have to kiss!" Belle exclaimed.

"What? No. Absolutely not," Regina shot

"It's the rule, sister," Leroy pointed out.

"That's a stupid rule," Regina grumbled.

"Come on, Mom," Henry said, "it's tradition."

"Yeah, you made Ruby and David kiss," Belle pointed out. She looked at the blonde sheriff.

"Kiss me," Emma said, shrugging and stepping closer to the mayor.

"Well, if it'll calm the masses," she said, sighing. Emma cupped her cheek, while Regina kept her hands on Emma's forearms. When their lips met, a spark went through Regina's body and she dug her fingernails into the blonde's jacket. The kiss was over just as soon as it started. Regina collected herself before letting go of Emma.

"Well, uh," David cleared his throat, "It's getting late. I think it's time to wrap up the party." Emma finally tore her eyes away from Regina's.

"I'll help you clean up," she said, quickly walking over to her father. Regina walked over to Henry and gathered her things. He sidled up next to her.

"You like Emma, don't you?" Henry asked.

"You think that because I kissed her due to a rule, that I like her?" Regina asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No, it was the way you kissed her and looked after. I think you should go for it," Henry said, shrugging as he got his stuff and headed toward the door. Regina paused and looked at Emma and then back at their son. He motioned with his head to go over to Emma. She nodded and he smiled and gave her a thumbs up. She walked over to Emma, who was taking down streamers, and cleared her throat.

"Oh, hey Regina. I, uh, sorry about the mistletoe thing. Just tradition, right?" Emma said nervously.

"It's quite all right, Emma. I was actually wondering if you'd like to come to dinner next week?" Regina asked.

"Family dinner? Sure," Emma smiled. Regina bit her lower lip.

"Well, no. I was hoping it'd just be the two of us," Regina clarified.

"Oh... _Oh_ ," Emma realized what was happening and started to fidget, "um... Yeah, Regina. That'd be great." She stepped off of the step stool she'd been stand on. She was inches from Regina again. This time, Regina pulled on her jacket to bring them close enough to feel each other's breath.

"Kiss me," Regina breathed.

And so Emma did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry to romantically frustrate y'all during quarantine! I'm feeling it too! lol


	14. Hey, I'm with you, okay? Always.

The town still didn't trust Regina. No one knew who cast the curse and immediately the locals wanted to blame the former Evil Queen.

Emma knocked on her office door, worried about Regina. She had fled in a swirl of purple smoke after a particularly terrible accusation.

"Regina," Emma called, knocking again, "come on, your door is locked, but I know you're in there. Talk to me." Regina waved her hand and the door opened on it's own accord. She was sitting in her desk chair, facing away from the door, "Regina."

"What, Miss Swan?" Regina snapped, "I have no patience for this right now, so please, accuse me and leave."

"You think that's why I'm here? Regina, I believe you," Emma confessed.

Regina swiveled around in her chair. "You do?" She asked.

Emma nodded. “Yes.”

"Every else has always been against me. I'm still nothing but the Evil Queen in their eyes. What makes you feel any different?”

"Hey, I'm with you, okay? Always.”

Regina's jaw slackened in surprise. She hadn’t expected Emma of all people to be behind her. ”Thank you, Miss Swan. I appreciate it," Regina told her, giving her a bit of a smile.

"Of course. I've got your back."


	15. So I found this waterfall...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies this is a day late! Blame omunk for being a great conversationalist! <3

Emma knocked on the mayor's office door.

"Come in," Regina called, not bothering to look up.

"Regina, hey," Emma greeted. Regina looked up from her paperwork.

"What can I do for you, Miss Swan?" Regina asked.

"I was doing my daily patrol, right? But something told me I should go a bit above and beyond today and so I walked around the forest a bit making sure there wasn't any trouble-"

"Get to the point, Miss Swan. I don't have all day to listen to your hiking stories," Regina quipped.

"So I found this waterfall and I thought you might want to come out and see it," Emma told her.

"For what purpose?" Regina inquired.

"Well, I may have told Henry and he'd like to go. Also, I've checked all town maps and it's not on any of them and I thought you might wanna add it or something," Emma said. Regina quirked an eyebrow.

"Do I look like a cartographer to you?" Regina asked.

"Hey, Henry also wants to go and I really think he'd enjoy it if you came, too," Emma replied. Regina sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. She wasn't one to just go out and do things. However, she couldn't say no to her son.

"All right, I suppose I should add this new finding to the maps," Regina told her.

"Great," Emma beamed, "meet us at the edge of the forrest in two hours." She turned and left, a bit of a bounce in her step.

Two hours later the three of them were on their way.

"I can't wait! I didn't know there was anything like this in Storybrooke!" Henry exclaimed. Emma ruffled his hair.

"Hope you wore the trunks, kid," Emma said.

"What? Oh no. No one is swimming. We have no idea what's in the water," Regina warned.

"Relax, Regina. Live a little," Emma nudged her gently. Before long, there was the unmistakable sound of rushing water. "There, look!" Emma pointed to the cascading water a few hundred yards in front of them. 

"Whoa! Cool!" Henry exclaimed. Suddenly, Emma was stripping off her clothes. Before Regina could get over her shock, she saw that Emma was in a swimsuit. She and Henry raced into the water.

"Come on, Regina!" Emma called.

"Yeah, Mom! It's awesome!" Henry yelled.

"If you don't, we're coming out after you!" Emma warned. Regina gave her a look, but knew she wasn't going to win the fight. She waved her hands and was clad in her own swimsuit. She waded into the cool water and shivered a bit.

"You gotta go all the way under to stop feeling cold," Henry informed her. Taking her son's advice, she fully submerged herself. When she popped back up, she was ambushed by Emma picking her up wedding-style, and Henry jumping on Emma's back to join the pile as Emma carried them under the waterfall. Regina squealed as Emma dropped her into the water. Henry and Emma started to splash each other and Regina smiled at the sight. The two turned their faces toward her, both beaming. _Yes_ , Regina thought, _I could definitely get used to this._


	16. It could be worse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is based off of a real experience I had back in 2015. We got so much rain our basement flooded 3 times that summer. This is how I picture the Swan-Mills family handling it.

"God, Regina, you never thought of fortifying this place with... I don't know... barriers or something?" Emma asked as Henry passed by her with another six gallon wet-vac load to empty outside.

"I've never had this problem before. In all the years Storybrooke has existed, it has never been this bad," Regina shot back, "it usually only does what it did earlier and _that_ I can handle." The three of them had needed a book from Regina's vault that they thought might help with their search for the Author. It had rained heavily that day and when they arrived there were scattered puddles of water they had to clear away. While they were there earlier in the day Regina had them move some stuff in case it happened again.

Well it happened again...

Only this time they could've opened a kiddie pool.

"This water's so deep we should charge five bucks a person and put a sign outside that says 'must be this tall to swim,'" Emma joked.

"Thanks for that lovely vote of confidence, Miss Swan," Regina glared.

"It could be worse," Emma said shrugging, "we could've forgone coming here this afternoon and putting stuff up earlier."

"Are you two going to stand around talking, or are you gonna start carrying some buckets?" Henry asked. His moms both turned to look at him. He was looking at them with a stare to rival Regina's, holding out two huge buckets. Emma smirked, grabbed a bucket, and ruffled his hair.

"All right, smart ass," Emma commented.

"Emma!" Regina scolded at the curse word. Emma shrugged.

"Hey, he can handle it," Emma said as she bent down to scoop up a bucketful of water, "just like we can handle this water!" She pumped her fist in the air and headed for the stairs yelling, "Poseidon's got nothing on us!”

Regina smiled and shook her head when Henry called after Emma, "I think you mean Zeus!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A two-for-one since I forgot to update yesterday!


	17. Looks like we'll be trapped for awhile...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a dual prompt I did that also was the 7th day of SQW 2K15 ^_^

Emma was dropping off paperwork when the earthquake hit. Everything started to shake and at first Regina was casual about it.

"It happens every so often," she said. But it kept getting worse, until you could hear buildings start to fall. Regina stood, but it was at that moment that the floor cracked open. Emma, Regina, and Regina's desk all went through the crack. Emma was able to fall safely with minor cuts and bruises, but she heard a sickening crunch coming from the direction Regina had fallen.

"Fuck!" Regina screamed through gritted teeth.

"Regina!" Emma called out as she scrambled to get up. She hobbled over to the brunette--so maybe she sprained her ankle--hoping it wasn't too severe.

"Goddammit!" Regina seethed with tears in her eyes. Emma reached her and kneeled in front of her.

"All right, what hurts?" Emma asked.

"My whole left arm," Regina told her, "my guess is that it's broken."

"Can you move it at all?" Emma questioned. She remembered her broken arm from when she was eight-- trying to fit in with the older skateboarding boys.

"Without pain? Barely," Regina told her, gritting her teeth.

"Okay, stay here and I'll look for a way out," Emma said. Regina just nodded weakly, attempting to hold back her tears of pain. Emma got up and wandered around the small room they’d ended up in. There was one door that she could find, but it was jammed tightly shut.

“Emma?” Regina called out, a bit of distress in her voice.

“Looks like we'll be trapped for awhile. The door is jammed,” Emma said with frustration. She pulled out her phone, but it had shattered when she fell, “damn!” Without warning, Emma heard Regina start to hyperventilate. She rushed over and dropped down next to her, “Regina? It’s okay. They’ll find us.”

“It’s... really small in here,” Regina squeaked. Emma looked around. Yeah, it kinda was, especially with all of the debris that had fallen with them.

“Don’t worry, you won’t have to be so close to me after this,” she joked. But that didn’t stop Regina’s distress. She was curling in on herself, probably injuring her arm even further.

“I... ca-can’t,” Regina gasped for air.

“Regina! Regina, I need you to try and stay calm, okay?” Emma was frantic. She’d never seen Regina like this.

“Too small,” Regina panicked. Emma mentally kicked herself. Regina was claustrophobic.

“Regina, look at me. Look me in the eyes. I need you to tell me how to help you,” Emma said firmly. Regina looked up at Emma, her eyes wide with fear.

“Stay. Please don’t leave me here,” Regina said in a small voice.

“I’d never do that,” Emma told her, tentatively reaching out to cup Regina’s cheek. The touch seemed to ground her a bit. Her breathing slowed--barely, but it was a start.

“Cora... she...” Regina couldn’t bear to finish the sentence.

“Shhhh, you don’t have to tell me anything. I’m right here. I’ll protect you,” Emma cooed soothingly. Regina nodded. Emma sensed that it was more for Regina’s own benefit. Emma sat next to Regina on Regina’s right, next to her good arm. Regina leaned into Emma and Emma took this cue to wrap her arms carefully around Regina. For the next hour and a half Emma continued to distract and calm Regina in any way she could while they waited for help. Finally, David found them.

“Emma!” He yelled down, “are you two okay?” Emma made a move to stand, but Regina had her in a death grip, so she refrained.

“We’re pretty sure Regina broke her arm and I may have sprained my ankle, but otherwise we’re okay,” Emma called back. She deliberately left out Regina’s panic, because she didn’t want to bring that out. No, that was something she doubted Regina wanted the whole town to know about.

“If I throw down a harness can the two of you make it up?” David asked.

“Yeah, I’m sure we could manage,” Emma replied. David threw down the harness and Emma made a move to get up again. Regina started to panic again. Emma pulled Regina to her chest and rubbed soothing circles on her back, “it’s okay. It’s okay. We’re getting out. Can you come with me?” Emma searched Regina’s eyes and she knew that Regina wasn’t there. She was far into her past. However, Regina gave a small nod. “Okay, I’ll strap into the harness so you don’t feel constricted. I promise I’ll keep you safe.”

“Emma?” David called down, “is everything all right?”

“Yeah! We’re just getting adjusted,” Emma answered. She stepped in and tighten the harness around herself before gingerly pulling Regina close to her. She had Regina straddle her and wrap her good arm around Emma’s neck, while Emma firmly held onto her waist. Regina buried her face into Emma’s neck, “okay! We’re good!” David and a few of the other citizens pulled the pair up to safety. Even once they were back in Regina’s office, Regina held firm onto Emma.

“She needs to go to the hospital,” David said, “to get her arm checked out.”

“I think she’s, uh, in shock. I’ll take her,” Emma told him.

“Get yourself checked out while you’re there,” David said in concern.

“Will do,” Emma agreed.

Regina was in the hospital for a few days to get treated for her injuries. While Emma had been treated and released, she hardly left the hospital until Regina was allowed to leave. Every so often, Regina would panic again, having flashbacks due to being in that small room for such an extended period of time. Emma made sure that she was there in case Regina needed her. Soon, Regina was released from the hospital and Emma volunteered to drive her home. Regina was the first to break the silence.

“Thank you, Emma. For... for everything,” Regina said.

“Of course, Regina. Don’t worry about it,” Emma told her.

“No really. Not only did you keep me calm and stay with me, you also didn’t go around and blab about the Evil Queen being a fearful weakling,” Regina said in shame. Emma pulled up to Regina’s mansion and killed the engine.

“You are not a fearful weakling. Claustrophobia is a real fear. And... PTSD is nothing to be ashamed of, Regina. I just want you to know you can come to me at any time, okay?” Emma responded. Regina nodded, closing her eyes. Emma could tell she was fighting tears again. She had the entire time they were trapped. “Come here,” Emma leaned over the console to gather Regina into an awkward hug, “you can cry if you need to. It’s really okay.” She’d never seen Regina this distraught. It was a bit out of character for the usually poised mayor, but flashback were hell and took their toll. Regina finally let herself cry into Emma’s shoulder. When she had finished crying, Emma sent a quick text out.

“Who are you texting?” Regina asked, “sorry, not that I don’t trust you with... this.”

“It’s okay. I just texted Mary Margaret to keep Henry for tonight. I told her you’d mostly be sleeping and it might be best if she looked after him for one more night,” Emma told her.

“Oh, Emma, I can-”

“Give yourself time to heal,” Emma cut her off. Regina sighed.

“Okay, but he comes home tomorrow,” Regina said firmly.

“Early if you want me to bring him by,” Emma promised. Regina bit her lip and started to fidget a bit, “what is it?”

“I don’t want to be alone,” Regina confessed quietly.

“I can stay if you’d like,” Emma told her.

“You’d really do that?” Regina asked, shocked. Emma nodded.

“Of course, Regina. I... I may not be claustrophobic, but I just want you to know that I get it,” Emma revealed.

Regina settled Emma into the guest bedroom. She’d prefer her--or anyone, she quickly mentally added--to be closer, but that would just make the situation even more awkward. They said their goodnights and Emma reminded Regina again that she was just down the hall. Regina felt a little silly being told that in her own house, but she was grateful all the same.

At about two in the morning, Regina felt herself being shaken awake. She awoke with a start. She was drenched in sweat and she was shivering. The nightmare of Cora was slowing fading from her consciousness. Regina felt firm arms encircling her waist. There was a soothing humming noise and she finally registered that Emma was quietly whispering things. She felt herself relaxing and Emma could feel it too, so she started to slip away. However, Regina jolted awake as Emma tried to leave.

“No, no, no, no, no, no, no,” Regina whispered quickly.

“Okay, shhhhhh,” Emma lifted back the covers and climbed into the bed. She leaned against the headboard and settled Regina against her, careful to mind Regina’s cast. She kept her arms firmly around Regina’s stomach as she listened to Regina’s breath staring to slow down. Regina felt herself slipping off back to sleep. She nuzzled into Emma’s embrace and sighed. She was asleep and didn’t feel when Emma kissed the top of her head. Emma then settled down to catch a bit of sleep, as well. Neither of them moved until Regina’s alarm went off the next morning.


	18. This is without a doubt the stupidest plan you’ve ever had. Of course I’m in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is based off of a weekend I had IRL with my cousin's family, only in this story no one breaks a toe or strains their arm lol.

"Come on, Regina! Henry invited us and Neal said it was okay," Emma pleaded, pouting out her lower lip.

"Emma, it's Neal's weekend, I don't want to intrude," Regina replied.

"This is Neal we're talking about. If he didn't want us to go he'd tell me so," Emma countered.

"Oh, all right," Regina sighed. Emma beamed and hugged her.

"This is going to be great!" Emma exclaimed as she rushed to pack her stuff for a trip to the lake.

***

The trip down wasn't actually too bad. The four adults--Neal, Tamara, Emma, and Regina sat in the front and middle seats, while Henry and Lucille--Neal and Tamara's four-year-old daughter-- sat in the back. The drive took about five hours to get to the trailer on the lake. When they got there, Henry and Luci were given the room with the bunk beds, Neal and Tamara had the master bedroom, and Emma and Regina had the pull out couch in the living room. They got to bed early so that they could get out on the lake quickly the next day.

***

Regina and Tamara bonded over making breakfast.

"Emma eats just about anything," Regina commented.

"Neal, too," Tamara replied, "but Luci on the other hand is very picky."

"Henry used to be that way when he was little, but eventually he grew out of it," Regina assured her. Just then, Emma lifted her head up from her pillow.

"R'gina?" Emma mumbled.

"Over here, Dear. Tamara and I are finishing up breakfast. Could you wake the kids for us?" Regina requested. Emma nodded, threw back the covers, and got up to stretch. She padded over the the kids' room. She bent down to the bottom bunk and lightly tickled Luci's ear.

"Emma!" She exclaimed while giggling.

"It's time for breakfast. Want to help me get Henry up?" Emma asked mischievously. Luci nodded with a twinkle in her eye. Emma hoisted her up and Luci pounced, tickling Henry's sides.

He'd heard the exchange and had already been awake.

"Ah! I'm being ambushed!" He cried, feigning surprise. Luci giggled as Henry tickled her back. "Let's go get breakfast."

***

After breakfast, the six of them headed down to the marina.

"Wow, Dad, that's a pretty sweet boat," Henry commented when they reached it.

"Thanks, Henry," Neal replied slapping a hand on Henry's shoulder, "got this one legally." He winked at Emma, who stifled a laugh.

"We've got a tube for tubing. Luci loves it. Does anyone want to go?" Tamara asked.

"Heck yes!" Henry exclaimed. The four adults climbed into the boat, while Henry secured his and Luci's life jackets. They grabbed ahold of the handles, "hit it!" Henry yelled. Neal gunned the boat's engine and they were off. Emma leaned over to Regina.

"I definitely want to try that," Emma told her, "you in?" Regina looked at her and raised an eyebrow.

“This is without a doubt the stupidest plan you’ve ever had," Regina shot, before softening and smiling, "of course I’m in.” After Henry and Luci went, Emma and Regina got on.

"I'm starting to regret this," Regina muttered.

"Why?" Emma asked.

"I've seen that look Neal has, before. I've seen it on you. He's not going to go as easy on us as he did the kids," Regina replied. She couldn't have been more right. As soon as Emma yelled "hit it!" the boat sped off and Neal drove in circles and through wake until Regina lost her grip and slammed into Emma, causing Emma to let go. They popped up due to their life jackets and Regina looked around, a bit dazed.

"You all right?" Emma called, "you slammed right into my leg.”

Regina held up a thumbs up. "I'm okay," she reassured her, "but I think I'm done with tubing." Regina swam back to the boat and Henry took her place on the tube with Emma. Regina was glad that he was only a bit taller than Emma now and just as lanky, otherwise the tube would've been much more uneven. Regina sat in the seat right behind Neal.

"Don't worry, Regina. I'm definitely not going easy on these two, either," he saidthat look in his eye.

"Hit it!" Both Henry and Emma yelled. Neal drove around until the tube actually flipped, ejecting both passengers. Both popped up laughing.

They spent the rest of the day tubing--Neal eventually convinced Regina to go again with Luci-- and swimming until it was time for dinner.

***

The next day, it was time to go. They all gave hugs. Henry was sad to leave his dad, but with the promise of next weekend, his spirits lifted a bit.

"Maybe next time we come to the lake I'll start to teach you to drive the boat," Neal commented. Regina almost made a disapproving statement until she saw the glee on her child's face.

"I can't wait!" He exclaimed. The two families packed their things and drove home. Half of the trip home, Henry excitedly chattered on about the weekend and the possibility of driving the boat.

"You'll be a natural, kid," Emma said.

"You think?" Henry asked.

"I do. You got determination from both sets of genes _and_ your mom. I think you're set," Emma told him. Henry smiled and popped in his headphones for the last few hours of the trip, leaving the adults to chat amongst themselves.

Once the Cassidys dropped the Swan-Mills family off, Emma turned to Regina, "see? That wasn't so bad."

"It was a great weekend," Regina agreed, "Tamara is a very nice woman. She and I swapped a few recipes this morning.”

"Good," Emma replied, smiling. As they unpacked, they each reflected on the weekend and hoped for many weekends like that in the future.


	19. The paint's supposed to go where?

"Hey, I've got something new I wanna try out tonight," Emma said.

"Is it something Henry needs to leave the house for?" Regina asked, peering over her book.

"All ready taken care of. He asked _me_ if he could go hang with August tonight. He said he wanted to learn more about the book and his job as the new author," Emma explained.

"All right, what were you thinking?" Regina inquired. Emma pulled out a set of paints.

"I thought we could paint tonight. Let out the creative side," Emma told her. Regina held out her hand to see the package. Emma had bought it special, because she didn't want to take a chance with their sensitive skin.

"The paint's supposed to go _where_?" Regina asked incredulously.

"On us," Emma replied, "come on, we can paint each other."

"I don't know..." Emma pulled out her puppy eyes, "oh, all right, fine," Regina relented with a smile.

Regina painted Emma first and it turned out she was quite the artist. On her back, she painted a sunrise to signify the beginning of her and Emma. It was full of color and detail. She washed her hands and took a picture for later. Emma, on the other hand, painted Regina's apple tree on Regina's back, though she made the tree a bit more intricate. She also took a picture and Regina rolled her eyes.

"You would paint that, Miss Swan." Emma grinned and kissed her nose.

"Oh hush, you love it."

"I'd love it more if you touched every inch of me while we clean up our mess," Regina purred. Emma got up and pulled Regina into the bathroom.

"The real piece of art is you, anyway."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not gonna lie, I think this would be super fun! I once had a friend draw on my back, but I think the paint would come off easier lol.


	20. You need to wake up, because I can't do this without you.

Emma's body convulsed as if an electric shock was running through it. The Sorcerer swore it was the only way to eject the darkness and to capture it in the proper tree he had fortified. The group watched--horrified--as the darkness removed itself from Emma's body. She struggled to breath...and when it was over, she collapsed on the ground, shuddering. Regina ran over to her as quick as she could and shook her gently. Emma didn't respond. Tears welled up in Regina's eyes. Throughout the journey to save Emma, she had realized her feelings for the blonde were more than just that of a co-parent.

"You need to wake up, because I can't do this without you," Regina whispered.

"Emma!" Mary Margaret screamed as she, too, ran forward to Emma's limp body. She turned to Regina, "you have to do something. You _must_." Her look implored Regina to do anything she could. By this time, Hook, Henry, David, and Belle were all crowded around Emma. The Sorcerer stood just off to the side wearing a somber expression.

"Regina, what about True Loves Kiss? That's what you told me to do with Rumple," Belle suggested quickly.

"But that didn't work," Regina protested.

"It would have, but he was a coward--possessed by his own magic. Don't be a coward, Regina." Belle was referring to Regina's feelings about the Savior. One night about two weeks ago, Regina and Belle got together to talk about The Dark One and how the power worked. Regina had ended up spilling her secret affections for Emma.

"Well, I'm her True Love. I could give it a try," Hook said. He was sincere, but Regina was conflicted. On one hand, she wanted Emma back, but on the other hand if it worked then Hook _was_ her True Love.

She watched Hook kiss Emma and held her breath. Nothing happened.

"Regina..." Belle said with a bit of warning in it. She didn't push a lot of things, but Belle pushed for love. Henry looked up at Regina.

"Yeah, Mom. You try," he pleaded. She hadn't told him, but she figured that he knew anyway. He was very astute. Regina took a deep breath, leaned down, and kissed Emma's cheek. There was a spark of light and Emma's eyes fluttered open.

"Emma!" Mary Margaret cried excitedly.

"Welcome back to the land of the living," David joked.

Emma smiled. "How'd you manage that?" She asked. She looked at Hook.

"Don't look at me, love. I'm not it," he said a bit bitterly.

"Henry?" He shook his head. She in turn looked at everyone in the group--all of them shaking their heads--until her gaze landed on Regina. Her cheeks were tinged pink in embarrassment and Emma knew. "Regina," she murmured. Regina nodded slowly. Emma grinned, leaned over, and kissed Regina's forehead. "I love you, too."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TENDER KISSES ARE THE SHIT. YOU CAN'T CHANGE MY MIND. <3


	21. We’re in the middle of a thunderstorm and you wanna stop and feel the rain?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Easter if you celebrate!

"I knew this wasn't a good idea," Regina muttered as she sat on one of Mary Margaret's chairs. The Charmings had invited her over for a family dinner and now everyone was stuck inside due to the raging thunderstorm outside. They had been playing board games for hours and Regina we starting to go stir crazy. Emma could tell that Regina was tense.

"Come with me," Emma said, tapping Regina's shoulder as she passed her to get to the door. Regina furrowed her brow in confusion, but followed Emma regardless. They walked down the stairs and to the front doors of the lobby. Emma handed her the umbrella and led her outside. Regina noticed that Emma was not wearing her signature boots, but a pair of cheap flip flops.

"What are you-" and with that, Emma jumped out from under the umbrella and started laughing. 

“We’re in the middle of a thunderstorm and you wanna stop and feel the rain?” Regina asked incredulously.

"You wanted out of the house, didn't you?" Emma yelled over the howling wind.

"Yes, but... Oh hell," Regina tossed aside the umbrella and joined Emma in childishly splashing in the puddles. Emma laughed again and grabbed Regina by the waist. Regina put her arms around Emma's neck and kissed her with reckless abandon.

"Quite the distraction from a boring apartment," Emma breathed.

"Yes. Quite."


	22. I’ve seen the way you look at me when you think I don’t notice.

"Hey, Regina. Where's Robin?" Emma asked as Regina sat next to her at the bar of Granny's Diner.

"We're... Taking a break," Regina confessed.

"Oh," was Emma's only reply. There was silence as each woman sipped her drink. "I'm sorry it's not working out right now.”

Regina chuckled.

"What? What's so funny?"

"It's nothing," Regina waved her hand dismissively.

"Don't do that. You're deflecting," Emma pressed.

"It's just..."

"Just what?"

“I’ve seen the way you look at me when you think I don’t notice," Regina confessed, looking straight into Emma's eyes.

"I- huh? I don't-" Emma spluttered. Regina took her hand.

"Emma. You're so busy making sure I don't catch you looking at me, that you miss me looking at you," Regina told her quietly.

"Really?" Emma asked. Regina nodded, "but what about Robin?"

"We can't be together, because my heart is with someone else. You," Regina said. Emma linked their fingers.

"Would you like to go for a walk?" Emma asked. Regina raised an eyebrow.

"Miss Swan, are you asking me out on a date?" Regina teased.

"Yes, Madam Mayor, I am," Emma replied, playing along. The two paid for their drinks and left the diner; their hands never separating.


	23. Just once.

"Come on."

"No."

"It'll be fun!"

"I highly doubt it, Emma."

"Henry did it."

"He's young and loves the thrill."

"I did it."

"You're a child."

Emma pouted and clung onto Regina's arm. She gave her the best puppy dog eyes she could musters. Regina sighed in defeat.

" _All right, Emma,_ " she relented. I will go down that water slide. But, just once." Regina emphasized "once" by holding up her index finger. Emma and Henry cheered as they all climbed into the four-person raft on the Watubee at Holiday World.

"Hang on!" Emma cried as they were shoved forward. Water sprayed the trio as they shot through the water slide. Regina grabbed Emma's hand on the handle tightly and screamed as Henry let out a whoop of joy. Suddenly, they were thrust into a pool of water, the ride being over. Emma laughed as she looked at Regina who was now quite soaked. She raised an eyebrow. "Well?" Regina shook her head and smiled at her son and wife.

"I'll be in the Lazy River if anyone needs me."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bruh I LOVE Holiday World


	24. You’re the only one I trust to do this.

"Please... take it, Regina,” Emma pleaded.

"Emma-"

"I saved you, now save me," Emma told her. She softened, "you're the only one I trust to do this." Regina's breath hitched as the weight of Emma's words hit her. She gingerly reached out and took the dagger, giving a small nod.

"Alright, Emma," Regina agreed. Emma deflated as the tension left her body.

"Thank you," Emma breathed. Regina reached over and touched her wrist.

"I'd do anything for you," Regina whispered. Emma smiled as she turned.

"I know you'll find me," Emma said quietly before transporting away.

Regina looked down at the dagger, cold in her hand. She clutched it tighter and squared her shoulders. She _would_ save Emma.


	25. I can’t believe you talked me into this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WHOAAAA, WE'RE HALFWAY THERE!

"Come on, Mom!" Henry cried excitedly as he tugged on Regina's small backpack. Getting impatient, he rushed off without her and Emma.

"Henry!" Regina called after him. Emma sidled up next to her and slipped her hand into Regina's.

"Relax, he's fine," Emma told her.

"I can't believe you talked me into this," Regina muttered. She looked around and frowned slightly.

"Regina!" Emma faux scolded, "you can't be unhappy in the happiest place on earth!"

"And, pray tell, _why_ is Disney World the happiest place on earth?" Regina quipped, arching an eyebrow as they joined Henry in the line for the Haunted Mansion ride.

"The excitement! The rides! The characters!" Emma exclaimed.

"The characters?" Regina asked incredulously, "Emma Swan your parents are Snow White and Prince Charming. You know all of these 'characters' in real life." Emma shrugged.

"Disney movies were a happy place in foster homes. They take you away from reality for a glorious 90 minutes," Emma told her.

"And which movie was your favorite?" Regina asked.

" _The Lion King_ ," Emma answered, "Simba had to run away from home. I always hoped that one day I'd find my own Timon and Pumbaa for a family." Regina leaned over and kissed Emma's cheek.

"What's the verdict?" Regina questioned. Emma grinned.

"I'd like to think my family now is more like the family in _Meet the Robinsons_ ," Emma admitted. Regina laughed.

"I'll take it."


	26. I got you a present

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so Regina isn't exactly present in this one, but it's got those Swan-Mills family feels. <3
> 
> Shout out (again) to omunk for keeping me sane and listening to me rant. A very charming friend indeed. ^_^

It was their first Christmas after the chaos that transpired in Neverland, forcing Emma and Henry to leave Storybrooke— not that either of them remembered.

Henry couldn’t clearly think about what he’d gotten his mother in the past. He assumed childish, handmade presents had been his main gifts, but this year he really wanted to wow her. He’d saved up a little money and when he found the right gift… he’d know.

When Christmas morning arrived, he got a handful of presents from Emma and “Santa.” He’d known for awhile now that Santa was simply a myth, but his belief always seemed to make his mother happy.

“I got you a present,” Henry said, pride in his voice. “It made me think of you.”

“Thanks, kid. You didn’t have to spend your allowance money on me,” Emma told him, taking the package from his hand. She carefully ripped the colorful paper off, curious as to what made Henry think of her.

Inside the wrapping was a music box snow globe. It depicted a small town and when Emma wound it up, a calming melody played, tugging at her emotions. A hazy memory niggled in the back of her mind. Soft brown eyes and a beautiful smile.

She shook herself out of the memory before smiling at Henry, “I love it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Go here to listen to the main title, which is OF COURSE what the music box is playing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k16jb6JZsws


	27. I’m pregnant

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've hit the end of week 5 of quarantine and I really miss my friends, but bringing at least 2 people daily joy does soothe the soul just a bit. <3

"Emma, may I speak with you?" Regina asked, her eyes flicking around the room nervously, refusing to meet Emma's gaze. Emma furrowed her brow.

"Sure, what's up?" Emma asked, turning on the barstool in Mary Margaret's loft to face Regina.

"Privately," Regina added, glancing up at Mary Margaret, David, and Henry. Emma pushed off from the stool and motioned for Regina to follow her toward the door.

"Let's take a walk," Emma offered.

They walked in silence and ended up by the docks. Regina leaned against the rail, taking deep breaths.

"Regina?" Emma called softly, gingerly touching Regina's shoulder. Regina bowed her head.

"I know we've only been together for a short while," Regina paused and pulled away, "I don't know if I can do this."

"Regina, please talk to me," Emma begged, reaching for Regina's hand. She turned Regina to face her and pulled her close. She watched as Regina squeezed her eyes shut and tears slipped down her cheeks. Emma wound a hand around her back and her other hand on the back of Regina's head, pressing their foreheads together.

"I wouldn't blame you if this scared you away," Regina said softly.

"I would never-"

"Don't make promises you can't keep," Regina cut her off, "if I have to do this alone I understand. But, you deserve to know." Emma waited patiently, rubbing soothing circles on Regina's lower back. Regina took a deep breath, "I'm pregnant." Emma blinked in surprise.

"I- what?" Emma asked.

"If it's too much-"

"Regina, no. I'm just... Confused," Emma told her. Regina looked into Emma's eyes and saw she was being sincere.

"What do you mean?" Regina questioned.

"It's just... Is it mine? Or?" Emma blushed.

"Of course, Emma. Who else- oh. _Oh,"_ Regina realized what Emma was saying, "we are two powerful women with magic. It's possible for this kind of thing to happen if the two parties possess powerful magic and strong love."

"Then why on earth were you frightened of my reaction?" Emma asked, giving her an encouraging smile, "powerful magic and _strong love_." Regina's face lit up.

"You're okay with this?" She asked hopefully. Emma brought both of her hands up to cup Regina's cheeks.

"Okay? I'm more than okay with this. It's shocking, sure, but I love you. I couldn't be happier," Emma told her. She kissed Regina as Regina brought her hands up to grip Emma's wrists. When the kiss broke Emma pulled back and blushed, "I do have one question."

"What's that?" Regina asked.

"Is there some sort of... Magical contraception?" Emma questioned.

"Why Ms. Swan, are you insinuating that you wish to continue having sex with me?" Regina teased.

"A woman has to worship a goddess when she has one," Emma shrugged. Regina laughed and swatted Emma shoulder. Emma pulled Regina close and pressed their lips together again. "I would never leave you," she whispered.

"Thank you. I love you so much," Regina told her.

"Now we gotta tell the kid," Emma reminded her.

"He did pester me for a sibling for quite a few years," Regina remembered.

"He probably didn't think it would happen like this," Emma chuckled.

"Probably not," Regina's brow creased in worry.

"Hey, he'll be thrilled," Emma reassured her, "he loves our family.”

Regina smiled and repeated her favorite words.

"Our family."


	28. Marry me?

Things were getting started at the reception of Kathryn and Thomas's wedding. Regina was dressed in a light purple dress along with all of the other bride's maids. She had been surprised when Kathryn asked her to take the job of maid of honor, but she immediately accepted. Admittedly she didn't know much about the job and Emma helped her out where she could. Regina was glad she had accepted, but she was glad to be finished with the responsibility. Now she was sitting at the wedding party table, contemplating if she was going to mingle or dance, when Emma walked over—hand outstretched.

"May I have this dance?" she asked. Regina looked up at Emma. She had her hair pulled up into a wrap around braid on her head and was dressed in a nice suit. Regina hadn't had a chance to scope out her girlfriend out during the wedding and she was pleasantly startled at how beautiful Emma looked.

"Why, yes you may," Regina replied, taking her hand. Emma guided Regina to the dance floor and pulled her close as they swayed to the music.

"You did a great job planning, Regina," Emma complimented.

"I did have a bit of help," Regina replied, bumping Emma's hip with her own. Emma smiled and shrugged.

"I know almost nothing about weddings and was winging it the whole time," Emma admitted.

"I know, but you were there when I needed you," Regina replied.

Emma shrugged. "Anything for one of my favorite people in the world," Emma told her. Regina smiled and laid her head against Emma's forehead, closing her eyes and sighing as Emma pulled her closer still. Soon, the music was more bar and rave music than slow dancing, so Emma told Regina she was going to head home. "I have an early start tomorrow," Emma said. Regina watched Emma then walk over to Henry and gave him a hug before whispering something in his ear, causing him to nod. Regina smiled at the encounter. Probably one of their jokes they share. Regina was glad they had that bond.

About an hour later, Henry sidled up next to Regina.

"Its getting kinda late. You ready to leave?" Henry asked. Regina checked her watch and saw that it was about 11PM. She nodded.

"Lets go home," Regina agreed. They wished the happy couple their congratulations again before they hopped into the car and headed toward the mansion.

When they walked in the door there was something noticeably off. Regina furrowed her brow, but Henry just took her hand and led her to the backyard. When he slid open the door Regina gasped at the sight before them. There were red and white fairy lights hung from a few trees, surrounding a table equipped with three chairs. Emma was seated in one of them, a bright smile on her face.

"Care to join me, you two?" Emma asked. Henry happily sat in the seat not next to Emma.

"What’s all this?" Regina breathed, her hand hovering over her mouth. Emma stood and walked over to Regina. She took her by the arm and pulled out her seat for her. Regina, still shell shocked, was speechless.

"I've known you both for six years, now," Emma started, "and I couldn't be happier to have you two in my life. We've had our differences, especially in the beginning, but I would do it all over again just to end up where we are today—a family. So, Regina, Henry has already answered this question, but now I pose this question to you..." Emma slid off her chair and got down on one knee, "marry me?" With tears in her eyes, Regina nodded vigorously.

"Yes, Emma. Absolutely." Emma beamed as they both stood to embrace each other. When Regina stopped crying she looked between Emma and Henry. "So, you really asked Henry to marry you?" Regina teased with a grin.

"Mo-om," Henry complained. Emma just laughed, kissed Henry’s hair, and slung an arm around his neck.

"Can you believe the kid said yes?" Emma joked back. Henry rolled his eyes, but he was smiling.

"You two are impossible," he told them. Both women kissed one of his cheeks at the same time to tease him some more before they sandwiched him in a group hug. Regina and Emma locked eyes and smiled at each other. _Yes_ , Regina thought, _this is exactly where I want to be._


	29. I thought you were dead

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's the one-year anniversary of my second tattoo, so yeah. That's cool. XD

"Regina?" Emma called as she opened the door to the mansion. She'd knocked quite a few times before checking around for a spare key. Regina was pretty predictable, because Emma found the spare in one of the potted plants. Emma walked to the kitchen, through the dinning room and around the entire first floor. Emma frowned as she climbed the stairs. She knew Regina was here. She could feel her. She opened the door to one of the spare rooms and found Regina sprawled face down on the floor. "Regina!" Emma dropped to her side and searched for a pulse. When she found it Emma sighed in relief. She gently shook Regina, managing to rouse her.

"Emma?" Regina called out, her vision hazy.

"It's me," Emma confirmed, "can you stand?" Regina tried, but simply stumbled back to the floor. "Easy." Emma helped her into a sitting position before gingerly lifting Regina into her arms. Regina's head rested against Emma's chest as Emma lifted her to sit on the bed.

"Emma," Regina murmured.

"Shh, I'm going to get you a glass of water and I'll be right back." Emma hurriedly went down to the kitchen, grabbed a glass out of the cabinet, and filled it with water. She hurried back up the stairs and handed it to Regina, who took a few grateful sips.

"Thank you," Regina said.

"Can you remember what happened?" Emma asked.

"I was checking the guest bedroom for that shirt you lost the last time you stayed over," Regina recalled, "I felt dizzy. And then... I woke up to you. You seemed pretty panicked." Emma sucked in a breath.

"For a minute there... I thought you were dead," Emma admitted quietly, "I was scared something came into the mansion and hurt you." Regina gave a small smile.

"Just stress and not eating a proper meal," Regina assured her.

"Do you want me to make dinner?" Emma offered, "I'm a decent cook, contrary to popular belief."

Regina smirked. "That'd be lovely."


	30. It’s not what it looks like…

Regina knew the second she looked at the crystal bottle that some of her apple cider was missing. She overheard Ruby earlier at the diner talking about a girls night with herself and Emma. Regina had a sneaking suspicion the girls night and petty theft were related. Regina decided to head over to Ruby's apartment to have a bit of fun. She wasn't disappointed with what she found when Ruby opened the door.

"Regina?" Ruby asked in confusion and, if her senses were correct, a hint of fear, "what are you doing here?" Regina looked around Ruby to see Emma frozen at the kitchen counter mixing a concoction for Jell-O shots.

"The only person in this entire town who can break into my house is the one and only Emma Swan," Regina stated. She watched as Emma's cheeks burned a deep crimson over her pale skin.

"It's not what it looks like... I-I," Emma stammered. Regina slid past Ruby, who was frozen to the spot, and sauntered over to Emma.

"Jell-O shots? My, my, Sheriff," Regina teased. She had Emma pressed up against the counter who was trying to stammer out an explanation. "Pour me a shot and maybe we'll call it even." Emma's mouth opened and closed a few times.

"Um, okay," Emma mumbled, hurrying to ladle out a shot for the mayor. By this point, Ruby had moved from her spot at the door to just inside the small kitchen, entertained by the scene unfolding. Emma handed Regina the shot.

“They’re not exactly set, yet,” Emma told her.

“That won’t be a problem,” Regina said, waving her hand over the shot glass, causing the Jell-O to set. “It's not a party unless we all do one," Regina told her.

Emma was still wary of what the mayor was thinking, but she complied, pouring herself and Ruby a shot. Regina solidified them before holding up her shot glass. Ruby readily clicked her glass with Regina's and quirked her eyebrow at Emma to do the same. Emma raised her glass and clicked it and the three women knocked back the cider Jell-O shots.

Regina licked her lips and set the glass down. "The next time you want cider shots just let me know," Regina purred, winking as she passed the blonde. Ruby was stifling a laugh as Regina breezed back through the door.


	31. You lied to me

“Regina! What are you doing?” Emma asked as she sat up from her bedroll. She readjusted for a moment, remembering that they were in Neverland.

“I’m going to get my son back,” Regina replied as if the answer was obvious.

“We all promised to stay together,” Emma said, standing to face the brunette. “You lied to me. What, did you have your fingers crossed behind your back, Madame Mayor?”

“I can’t just sit around and do nothing!” Regina hissed, stamping her foot, slightly child-like.

“We have to rest to gather our strength. You can’t do this alone,” Emma told her.

“Great,” Regina muttered to herself, “just what I need. The Savior trying to lead when she can’t even do basic magic.”

“Another reason why I need you here, then,” Emma replied, shrugging. “You can’t do it alone and I need help with magic. We’ve been over this.”

Regina softened a bit. “I just miss him so much.”

Emma rubbed her hands comfortingly (she hoped) up and down Regina’s arms a few times. “Hey, we’ll find him. The kid is strong and we have you to thank for that.”

Regina gave her a bit of a smile before returning to her normal, emotionless mask. “I supposed you’re right. Lack of sleep will mean lack of focus.”

Emma internally rolled her eyes, but laid back down to tried and catch a few hours of rest as Regina did the same.


	32. I think I’m in love with you and I’m terrified

"That's another wall, Emma. Now, the truth," Regina begged.

"It is," Emma deflected, "Regina, please."

"No, it's not! You just have to be brave enough to knock down all those walls you're hiding behind. The dagger can make you look, but you... You have to choose to see, now come on," Regina implored her, "come on, Emma, see. Tell me what you're really afraid of!" She was close to tears.

"I think I'm in love with you and I'm terrified!" Emma screamed. Regina's breath caught as she slowly lowered the dagger back onto the lip of the well.

"Is that true?" Regina asked, never taking her eyes off of Emma.

"I can't lie with you commanding me with that dagger, now can I?" Emma growled.

"I suppose not..."

"Emma!" Mary Margaret exclaimed, "are you alright?"

"Peachy," Emma mumbled as she snatched the dagger and unlit flame from the edge of the well, "excuse me." She turned and stormed into the forest.

"What happened, Regina?" David asked.

"Emma has... A few things to work out," she said.

"I'll go after her," Killian volunteered. Regina watched him go, still unable to sift through her own feelings. Regina leaned back against the well.

"Regina?" Mary Margaret called softly. She sent David a look and he immediately turned to go back to the diner.

"I'm not going to talk about it, Snow," Regina said firmly.

"What happened? We heard yelling, is everything alright?" Mary Margaret asked.

"I said. I'm not going to talk about it," Regina restated through gritted teeth. She turned, ignoring Mary Margaret's pleas. Regina felt like she couldn't breathe. She needed Emma. She headed toward the woods where Emma had gone, coming across Emma and Killian talking. She thought about stopping—letting Emma talk it through with someone else—but she didn't want that. This was between her and Emma. "Emma." The blonde stood quickly, knocking the dagger and Promethium flame to the ground.

"Regina," she whispered horsely, "please don't. I can't handle this right now."

"Go on, your majesty," Killian said.

"This has nothing to do with you," Regina snapped.

"If it concerns Emma, it concerns me," he challenged.

"He's right," Emma agreed, "it does concern him."

"I supposed it certainly does when he's about to get his heart broken," Regina said quietly.

Emma blinked in surprise. "What?"

"What's she talking about, Swan?" Killian demanded.

"I..." Emma looked to Regina.

"She doesn't love you as much as you love her," Regina told him gently.

"She's my happy ending. Of course she does," he argued.

"Killian, please," Emma uttered softly.

"No don't do that," Killian said, "don't tell me she's right."

"Emma, please don't fear your feelings," Regina coaxed softly.

"And what are your feelings, Swan?" Killian demanded.

"I..." Emma paused, moistening her lips, "I'm in love with Regina." With her confession, the flame burst to life. The three stood in stunned silence for a few moments.

"Well I guess that's it then," Killian said, sending a wounded look toward the pair, "I'll just go back to the Diner." He slunk off, leaving the pair alone. Regina stood still, as if Emma was a spooked animal—she didn't want to scare her off.

"What did all this mean to you?" Emma asked suddenly.

"What do you mean?"

"Did you do this just to drive Killian away? What's the purpose of that?"

"Emma, I... I return your feelings."

"You do?" Emma questioned, hope shining in her eyes. Regina nodded as she moved to take Emma's hands.

"I do," Regina confirm.

"Can I k-" Emma's question was cut off by Regina lips on her own.

"That answer your question?" Regina breathed. Emma smiled and nodded. "Now, let's go get this Darkness out of you, shall we?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the dream, isn't it?


	33. Please don’t do this

“Please don’t do this,” Regina practically begged.

“I’m sorry, Regina. It has to be done,” Emma told her.

“It doesn’t. We can work this out.”

Emma glanced at Regina, but kept her cool— she knew if Regina was pulling the puppy dog eyes, she wouldn’t be able to resist. “I’ve made my decision.”

“You always have time to change your mind,” Regina said, trying one last time to dissuade Emma from doing her worst.

“I truly am sorry,” Emma replied before deploying a blue shell which promptly smashed into Rosalie’s kart— Regina’s favorite character.

“Dammit, Swan!” Regina yelled as 3 or 4 racers passed her. “You’re gonna regret that!”

Emma grinned, she loved a challenge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Challenges always make things more interesting, especially between these two. ;)


	34. If you keep looking at me like that we won’t make it to a bed

"Wow you look amazing," Emma commented, holding out the rose she had brought.

"You don't look too bad yourself," Regina replied, accepting the proffered flower. Emma nervously tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, restraining herself from shoving her hands in her pockets. "Shall we go?"

Emma nodded, reaching for Regina's hand, the woman glad taking it. The walk was quiet, but comfortable on the way to the restaurant. Emma kept glancing over, unable to keep her eyes off of Regina.

“If you keep looking at me like that we won’t make it to a bed," Regina whispered in a low voice. Emma shivered.

"Here I am, trying to take you out on a proper first date, like any lady deserves, and you're just trying to seduce me," Emma joked, much of the tension leaving her body. Regina pulled Emma closer.

"Is it working?" Regina asked mischievously.

"Be sure to ask me later," Emma replied, winking. Regina laughed as they arrived at the restaurant and were shown to their seats.


	35. You heard me. Take. It. Off.

“Is that my shirt you’re wearing, Miss Swan?” Regina asked, quirking an eyebrow.

Emma hastily looked down at the silk shirt she was currently sporting, blushing a bit as she looked back up at Regina.

“Yeah, sorry. The kid let me borrow it,” Emma explained.

“Take it off.”

“What?” Emma asked in surprise. She wasn’t even sure she’d heard the other woman correctly.

“You heard me. Take. It. Off,” Regina repeated.

Emma looked around. “We’re in the middle of the station. I can get it back to you tomorrow.”

Regina approached her slowly. She reached out a hand and lightly fingered the top button. “Unless… you’d prefer I help you with that, Miss Swan?”

Emma’s breath hitched. “What are you…” she cleared her throat, “what are you saying?”

Regina leaned in so close her lips were practically touching the outside of Emma’s right ear. “I think you know exactly what I’m implying.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Their sexual tension was ALWAYS palpable


	36. I wish I could hate you

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to divert from canon for this particular story to work. In this version, Henry’s body is actually Henry instead of Peter Pan.
> 
> I'm truly dating myself of when I started this prompt project. I've had plans to do it since 2015. This particular prompt was written for SQ Week Summer 2K15: Jealousy and I had plans to cross post when I got around to finishing all 50 prompts. Welp... Almost 5 years later and here we are lol.

She was pissed. Like, _really_ pissed. Regina hadn’t spoken to Emma in days. Had it been a week? Emma looked at her phone and all the unanswered texts. Yep. The last time Regina had even texted her was six days ago. It’d been longer since she’d actually _spoken_ to Emma. Right now it was Regina’s week with Henry and Emma hoped she could get a minute to talk to Regina when she picked him up tomorrow. She sighed and wondered what she had done to merit this span of cold shoulder. Suddenly, her phone buzzed with a text message. Emma snatched it up, hoping it was Regina even if it was just about picking up Henry tomorrow. Emma was disappointed to learn that it was Neal. Emma sighed and learned back into her chair. He was asking if he could spend some time with Henry this weekend. She quickly replied that yes he could, as long as there was no disaster between now and then. She tossed her phone onto her desk.

They’d all gotten back safely from Neverland about a month ago. Everyone was on edge, because they knew Pan—though sealed in a box—was still here in Storybrooke. Right now, Emma was just counting the happy days she had until something evil or weird came to ruin it for her. Although at this moment, Emma was sulking that Regina wasn’t talking to her.

Emma looked at her phone clock and realized that David would be at the station for the next shift pretty soon. After the shift change, Emma went home and went straight to bed. She felt sort of lousy. At this time, she didn’t have a whole lot to do. Storybrooke was fairly quiet and the only friend she made when she first came to town turned out to be her mom. Not that she wasn’t grateful for Mary Margaret, but she was kind of avoiding her since her confession in Neverland about wanting another baby. Emma didn’t blame her... she was just conflicted.

In the morning, she had expected a text or something from Regina telling her to pick Henry up from school. Instead, she found Henry’s stuff in his room already.

“Dav- Dad,” Emma corrected herself, “what’s Henry’s stuff doing here?” David looked up from the eggs he was making on the stove.

“Regina came by early this morning. She asked Mary Margaret to take Henry into school with her today and that she’d see him next week,” David told her.

“What?” Emma practically screeched.

“What’s the matter?” David asked, turning the stove off. Emma collapsed onto one of the bar stools and held up her face with her hands.

“She’s avoiding me,” Emma said bluntly.

“Why would she be avoiding you? Did something happen?” he asked in concern. Emma threw her hand up in frustration.

“I don’t know! She won’t even answer me! If I knew what was wrong I’d have fixed it by now,” Emma grumbled.

“Well, I do have some paperwork that I told her I needed to drop off. I _am_ kind of busy today and I’d _hate_ to make the mayor angry by having to reschedule,” David said, feigning innocence, “would you take it for me?” Emma smiled and chuckled. She and her dad definitely could relate on some level, and she was glad to have that connection.

“Sure, Dad. I’d be happy to _help_ you,” Emma quipped back.

When two o’ clock rolled around, Emma was knocking at the mayor’s door—paperwork and a peace offering of coffee in hand.

“Come in, David,” Regina called, not bothering to look up from her current task. Emma pushed open the door and walked up to the desk. Regina looked up, startled, but she quickly composed herself.

“Sorry, David was busy and asked me to drop these off,” Emma said, playing it casual, “I also got you this. I know the after lunch slump is real.” She set the coffee on her desk and Regina hesitantly reached for it. Emma continued to stand there.

“Was there something else I could do for you, Miss Swan?” Regina asked. Emma could tell she was tense.

“Cut the ‘Miss Swan’ crap, Regina. What’s going on?” Emma asked bluntly.

“I don’t-” Emma held up her hand effectively cutting Regina off.

“Don’t lie to me, Regina,” Emma said sternly before softening, “I’m worried about you.” Regina looked shocked.

“You’re... worried about me?” Regina asked slowly.

“Well, yeah. You haven’t spoken to me in a week. I know you’re busy being the mayor, but come on, you dropped Henry off at the apartment for Mary Margaret to take him to school just so his stuff would already be there,” Emma confronted.

“Guess you’re not as dense as I hoped,” Regina joked as she leaned back into her chair. Emma dragged a chair over to sit in front of her.

“Talk to me. What did I do?” Emma asked quietly. Regina sighed and closed her eyes.

“You didn’t do anything, Emma,” Regina said, crossing her arms and refusing to look Emma in the eyes.

“Then what is it? I’d like to help,” Emma told her.

“I’m sure that the qualms I have will make you think of me as foolish,” Regina said, now leaning into her desk, her arms still folded and resting on the desk’s surface. She didn’t normally fidget so much, but some topics made her nervous. Emma noticed her body language and reached over to put a hand on Regina’s arm.

“I promise I won’t,” Emma said sincerely. Regina looked up at her and took a deep breath.

“This... coming back and having Neal around...” Regina started.

“Are you worried about less time with Henry?” Emma asked, “I promise he’ll only take up time during my weeks. I’m sure Henry might even consider time with the both _and_ Neal sometimes.” Regina tensed at that. She pulled away and stood, turning toward the window away from Emma.

“No, Emma. It’s not less time with Henry I’m worried about. I think time with Neal is important for him,” Regina replied. Emma stood and followed Regina.

“Then what?” Emma demanded. Regina whirled around to face her.

“Are you and Neal going to try dating again?” Regina blurted out. Emma was shocked at how bluntly Regina had asked her.

“What? No! I made it clear to him that I just... I couldn’t do it. I told Henry the same thing. I told him that I knew that he might want it—for the three of us to be a family—but that I couldn’t go through with it. I even warned him that Neal may not stick around. He’s never been one to stay somewhere for very long,” Emma told her, “besides, I told him that, no matter what, he has you. He has me. And if Neal decides to leave that we’d be here for him.”

“I’m glad you have that straightened around with Henry,” Regina said stiffly.

“I feel like there’s something else. Where’s all this animosity coming from?” Emma huffed.

“I wish I could hate you,” Regina snapped, “it would be much simpler.” Emma recoiled as if she’d been slapped.

“I see,” Emma muttered.

“No, Emma,” Regina put a hand to her forehead and put the other on her hip, “that’s not what I meant.”

“What else could you have possibly meant?” Emma fired back as she moved to leave.

“Emma! Wait, don’t leave,” Regina hurried after her as Emma neared the door. Regina grabbed Emma’s wrist.

“Get off!” Emma tried to pull her hand away, “it’s obvious you don’t want me here.”

“But it’s the opposite!” Regina confessed. This made Emma pause. Regina dropped her arm.

“What are you saying?” Emma asked. Regina wet her lips in nervousness.

“What I’m saying is, I wish I could hate you, because it would be easier than loving you,” Regina said quietly.

“You... love me?” Emma asked. Regina nodded, keeping her eyes on Emma, “and that’s why you asked about Neal? You’re jealous?” Regina nodded again.

“I know he’s important to Henry. What I don’t know is _how_ important he is to you,” Regina replied. Emma sighed and held Regina’s hands in hers.

“He’s not as important to me as you are,” she confessed, “I’ve been trying to get ahold of you all week to find out what’s wrong.”

“I thought you were just doing your Savior duty,” Regina said.

“After what we went through in Neverland? Regina, I care about you. I care about you a lot. I... don’t know if that I’m quite ready to confess any feelings yet because of everything that’s happened and what it has brought up from my past, but I think one day I will. And they’re all for you, Regina,” Emma told her, pressing their foreheads together.

“I understand,” Regina said, “and I’m willing to wait for you.”


	37. You fainted…straight into my arms. You know, if you wanted my attention you didn’t have to go to such extremes

They were going home. That’s all that mattered to Emma. Henry was safely below deck, tucked into one of the bunks. Emma climbed the stairs back out into the open so she could watch that wretched island disappear. She saw Regina standing at the ship’s stern and decided to join her.

“Some day, huh?” Emma said.

Regina merely nodded. “Some day.”

Something was off about her, but Emma couldn’t tell what.

“The kid’s probably not really asleep, but he’s safe. Mary Margaret and David are with him in case he needs anything.”

“Good.”

“Regina, I—”

Without warning, Regina’s body started falling toward Emma.

“Whoa, Regina!” Emma exclaimed, catching her. Emma— not knowing what to do— picked Regina up, cradling her to her chest. She didn’t want to take her below deck to the room and frighten Henry, so instead she carried her down to the small galley kitchen.

Emma settled Regina against a wall before preparing a cup of water and a small assortment of food.

Slowly but surly, Regina started to stir. “Mmm.. what happened?”

“You fainted…straight into my arms,” Emma told her, recognizing the worry in her own voice. Not wanting to scare Regina or alert her to the fact that _she_ was scared, Emma put on a smile and added a hint of flirtation to her voice. “You know, if you wanted my attention you didn’t have to go to such extremes.”

Regina rolled her eyes. “It’s not every day two people create an eclipse, you know. That takes a lot of magic.”

Emma sat down next to her, offering up the food and water. “I know. Just thought an all powerful queen could handle herself,” she said, grinning.

Regina couldn’t stop herself from smiling just a bit. “You’re insufferable, you know that?”


	38. Wanna dance?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gosh, y'all! I wanted to post this one specifically today because it's my birthday and I actually really like how it turned out. ^_^
> 
> I loved writing it and I definitely listened to the song many many times while writing it.

The Rabbit Hole was pretty packed tonight. Emma had convinced Regina to come to girls night out with her, Kathryn, Belle, Ruby, and Mary Margaret. She almost didn't due to Mary Margaret's presence, but she begrudgingly agreed when Emma promised she could have the seat farthest away from her. When she arrived, there was already a round of shots and an empty seat by Emma. She and Kathryn were chatting with Belle while Ruby was convincing Mary Margaret to do another shot.

"Hello, Regina," Belle greeted warmly.

"Saved you a seat and a shot," Emma said, gesturing for her to sit.

"I'm glad you decided to come!" Kathryn exclaimed. For awhile they all sat and chatted. Even conversations with Mary Margaret went well. Suddenly, the song _Shut Up and Dance_ by WALK THE MOON came on.

"I love this song!" Ruby shouted over the din. Emma turned to Regina.

“Wanna dance?”

"What? Oh no. Really. I couldn't," Regina replied.

"We're not taking no for an answer!" Kathryn told her, winking. The five women got up and started dancing to the music. At first, Regina hesitated. She hadn't really let loose like this in awhile. However, Emma grabbed her hands and started to dance around with her giving her no choice.

"Oh don't you dare look back, just keep your eyes on me, I said you're holding back, she said shut up and dance with me. This woman is my destiny, she said oooh oooh oooh, shut up and dance with me!" Emma sang out loud. She wasn't great, but she wasn't bad. She twirled Regina and then pulled her in, putting her hand on Regina's waist. Emma continued to sing. If Regina didn't know any better, she'd say that Emma was singing to her. She hadn't looked at anyone else or tried to engage anyone else during the song. The song was nearing its end so Emma spun Regina out one last time. While she was pulling Regina back in, Ruby gave Emma a small shove, forcing her to be within an inch of Regina's face.

Regina looked up into emerald eyes and her breath hitched. She started to blush, but she didn't pull away. She wetted and slightly bit her bottom lip. She could see Emma searching her eyes for a clue and with a slight nod from Regina, Emma leaned down and captured her lips in a gentle kiss that left Regina breathless. There was a wolf whistle from Ruby.

"Pay up, bitches!" Ruby shouted. Kathryn, Belle, and Mary Margaret all pulled out five bucks and handed them to Ruby.

"You hoes took bets on me and Regina?" Emma shouted over to the group.

"Ruby bet she could get you two to kiss by the end of the night," Belle explained. Emma playfully punched Ruby on the arm before turning back to Regina who still had pink in her cheeks; not used to quite so much personal invasion. Emma walked over to her and slid and hand around her waist.

"You wanna blow this place?" She whispered into Regina's ear. Regina smiled.

"With you, Dear? Of course." Emma paid for their drinks and they left the group to their own devices.

"Don't expect her home tonight, Snow," Ruby said with a laugh.

"Oh trust me, I don't."


	39. Hey! I was gonna eat that!

Emma had woken up later than usual. She silently cursed herself. Ruby had promised to make chocolate chip cookie dough cupcakes today and they always sold out fast. She jumped into clean clothes and quickly attended to her basic hygiene routine and shot out the door. When she arrived, there was one cupcake left and none other than Regina Mills in front of her.

“I’ll take your last chocolate chip cookie dough, please,” Regina told Ruby.

“Hey! I was gonna eat that,” Emma joked.

Regina turned and smiled. “Are you going to explain to Henry why he doesn’t get one tonight?”

Emma shrugged and gave her a cocky smile. “I’ll think of something. I’ll bring something by. Come on, Regina, I _live_ for these days. Wouldn’t want your sheriff to be in a bad mood this early, would you?”

Regina grinned. “Of course not. The cupcake is yours.”

Emma thanked her and paid for the cupcake. Once outside of the diner, she pulled it out of the bag and took a giant bite, just as Regina was walking by.

“Miss Swan you…” she trailed off, swiping her finger over Emma’s upper lip where a glob of frosting had once been, and licked it off her finger.

Emma’s eyes widened.

Regina merely smiled and said, “have a wonderful day, Miss Swan.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Emma may live for those cupcakes, but I live for these two's sexual tension.


	40. You did all of this for me?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Coming in right under the wire here, but I've posted on May 1st!

It was their one-year wedding anniversary and Emma knew she had to do something big. She convinced Henry to keep Regina busy all day.

“Ma, it’s not a problem. She loves hanging out with me. I’ll just take her to lunch and then the book store. We’ll be there for quite awhile,” Henry assured her.

“Alright, just don’t go to the park, got it?” Emma reminded him.

“Got it.”

With the perfect distraction set, Emma got to work

After a few hours, she texted Henry to meet her with Regina at Granny’s.

“We had lunch here, Emma,” Regina said, “we certainly can’t eat here for dinner.”

“Don’t worry, I’ve got dinner covered,” Emma said before turning to Henry. “You good for the night, kid?”

Henry gave her a thumbs up. “I’m staying over at Nick’s tonight.”

“Good for the night?” Regina asked. “What’s going on?”

“I’ll leave you to it,” Henry said cheekily, giving them both a hug before ambling off toward Nick’s house.

“I have a surprise for you,” Emma admitted. She then transported them to the middle of the park. Just as she had planned, the sun was just starting to go down, revealing a romantic dinner set up next to David’s pick up.

“What… what is your father’s truck doing here?” Regina asked.

“Well, I have your favorite for dinner at this table for two and then…” Emma led Regina over to the truck so she could see it properly, “then I have your favorite movie ready to go.”

Regina stared. There was an air mattress blown up inside the bed of the truck and fairy lights strung up on the outside. A pile of blankets sat folded on top of the air mattress next to Emma’s laptop.

“This is… this is incredibly sweet,” Regina whispered, pulling Emma close. "You did all of this for me?"

Emma kissed the top of Regina’s head, “happy anniversary.”


	41. If you die, I’m gonna kill you

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Technically it's the 3rd now, but tomorrow I will have plenty of time to crank out a few more prompts, if not the rest for this little challenge!

The twisting Darkness swirled around Regina, suffocating her.

Emma heard herself speaking— something about tethering the Darkness to a soul— but she was more focused on Regina… on saving her. She charged forward, dagger in hand.

“Emma! No!” Regina shouted, desperation in her voice. “There has to be another way.”

“There isn’t,” Emma shouted back, eyes glistening with tears, "you've worked too hard to have you happiness destroyed." She wasn’t going to lose her now… not after all they’d been through. She started toward the the coiling cyclone once more.

“No!” Hook yelled.

Emma heard herself murmur words of comfort to him and her parents, but she wasn’t truly focused on them.

With a final move, Emma stabbed wildly at the Darkness, desperate to free Regina. Pain surged throughout her body and then… she was gone.

In shock, Regina moved forward, picking up the dagger and running her fingers over the new name engraved on its surface.

“Swan… if you die, I’m gonna kill you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bro. This scene is LEGIT one of the gayest scenes of the show and you can't change my mind. The chemistry with these two? Astronomical during the S4 finale.


	42. I swear it was an accident

Regina had Henry set out three place settings.

“Emma should be here soon,” she said. “I told her 5:30.”

“It’s almost 6,” Henry pointed out.

“Exactly,” Regina replied, flashing a smile and pulling the roast chicken out of the oven.

As predicted, Emma arrived a few minutes before 6, rushing to apologize.

“I’m so sorry! Things were a little hectic at the station, and—”

“It’s alright, Dear,” Regina told her soothingly. “Henry just set out the plates and silverware.”

Emma gave Regina a small, but teasing glare. “You knew I’d be late.”

“I can’t help that you’re so predictable,” Regina replied, shrugging.

Emma could help but chuckle as she sat down at her designated spot.

Dinner went well. They talked about work, school, and the oddity of all the calm around town.

“This was delicious, Regina,” Emma said, wiping her mouth.

“Yeah, Mom. Thanks,” Henry agreed.

“Thank you both. Henry? Why don’t you go finish up some more of your homework and in an hour or so we’ll have dessert.”

Excited for the possibility of dessert, Henry got up from the table quickly, carefully placing his dishes in the sink.

“I’ve got those,” Emma said, indicating the dishes.

“Oh Emma, you don’t have to,” Regina protested.

“It’s the least I can do. I had to run out pretty quick the last time I was here,” Emma told her.

Emma got up from the table and gathered up her and Regina’s dishes, having to take a second trip for Regina’s wine glass. Not having as firm of a grasp on it as she thought, it fell from the table and shattered on the floor.

Emma stiffened. “I swear it was an accident.”

Regina heard the change in Emma’s voice. Soft… _afraid_.

“Emma?” Regina called gently.

“I didn’t mean to break it,” Emma told her. She was starting to tremble.

Regina got up and, without touching Emma, managed to get in her line of sight. Her eyes were fixed and starting to glaze over.

“Emma, it’s okay. You’re okay. I can replace the wine glass. You’re safe in my house. You’re safe in Storybrooke. I’m here.” She extended a hand, but only far enough out that, if Emma wanted to, she could take it.

Emma’s eyes started to shift back into focus and she blinked, looking right at Regina.

“I…”

“It’s okay, Emma. You don’t have to explain to me. I understand,” Regina told her.

Emma reached out and took Regina’s hand. “Thank you for talking to me. Thank you for… for just being there.”

“Of course,” Regina said. “Do you need some water?”

Emma nodded.

Regina forced her to sit back down at the table as she filled a glass with water. When she put it down in front of Emma, Emma took her hand again and squeezed.

Regina ran her other hand through Emma’s hair. “I’ll always be here for you.”


	43. YOU DID WHAT?!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's your daily prompt before I have to attend a zoom meeting and then later a zoom wedding!

“Mom is going to kill you,” Henry said.

“Me?! You were there, too!” Emma retorted.

“You’re gonna throw your own son under the bus?” Henry asked. “Besides, Mom _can’t_ be mad at me for long. I think it’s physically impossible for her.”

Emma narrowed her eyes at him.

Regina was in the living room reading a book when they arrived home.

“What’s this?” Regina asked, seeing not only her wife and son, but a medium sized dog walking into their house.

“Uhhh… you see…”

“Ma thought it would be cool to get a dog!” Henry exclaimed.

Emma shot him a scathing look.

“YOU DID WHAT?!” Regina yelled, putting down her book and pushing her glasses to the top of her head. She stood quickly as Emma rushed to explain.

“The kid’s been wanting a pet and I think he’s ready for the responsibility.”

“And you came to this conclusion _without_ consulting me?” Regina asked.

The loud voices caused the dog to start barking.

“Silence!” Regina growled.

The dog did as his was told, laying down in submission at Regina’s feet.

Regina, taken aback, softened a bit. She looked to Henry whose mouth was practically hanging open and then to Emma who still had a sorry look on her face.

“One week,” Regina said. “If he’s not properly trained by then, we take him back.”

Henry, Emma, and the dog watched her snatch up her book and march upstairs.

“He’s staying, isn’t he?” Henry asked.

“Oh yeah he is. Did you see how he submitted so easily? He knows whose in charge.”

Henry grinned. “Guess we should start thinking of names.”


	44. Tell me a secret

Emma laughed, passing the bottle of tequila back to Ruby. “God I haven’t had this much fun in… EVER!” Emma said giddily.

“Stick with me, Ems. I’m aaaalways fun!” Ruby replied, giggling.

The two of them were situated on Ruby’s bed— Ruby leaning against the wall and Emma laying flat on her back, legs dangling over the edge.

“I never had sleepovers,” Emma told her, jutting out her bottom lip in a dramatic pout.

“Never?”

Emma shook her head vigorously, mussing up the hair on the back of her head.

“So then… you’ve never played Truth or Dare?”

Emma narrowed her eyes at Ruby. “I’ve seen the movies. You just want to dare me to kiss you.”

Ruby started laughing. “What?! You’re drunk. Choose truth then, silly.”

Emma was squinting to try and keep her focus on Ruby’s face. “Okay truth.”

“Tell me a secret,” Ruby said immediately.

“Rubyyyy,” Emma whined.

“Rules is rules,” Ruby taunted.

Emma pulled one of the pillows over her face and started to speak.

“Nuh uh! That’s cheating,” Ruby said, pulling the pillow away from her.

“You can’t laaaaugh,” Emma said, sighing.

“No promises, Savior lady,” Ruby replied.

Emma huffed, but acquiesced. “I… I have feelings for Regina.”

Ruby’s eyebrows shot up. “Details, please.”

“Can you add onto your turn?” Emma asked.

“It’s my house, my rules!” Ruby exclaimed.

Emma glared at her, but continued. “I just… I think about holding her hand a lot and sometimes when she looks at me with that cute smile I just wish she’d kiss me.”

“Emma… she doesn’t look at just _anyone_ with that cute smile. I think she’s into you.”

“Maybe, but I’m scared.”

Ruby put down the bottle of tequila and took her friend’s hand in hers. “Sometimes things like this can be scary… but isn’t Regina worth fighting for?”

“I always want to protect her,” Emma told her matter of factly. “She doesn’t need it, but I want to.”

Ruby smiled. “Tomorrow we’ll start working on a plan.”

“A plan?” Emma asked.

“A plan to get you your woman!” Ruby said. “But for tonight… I dare you to prank call Mary Margaret!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let's be real, this is almost ALWAYS the secret at sleepovers


	45. Hey, have you seen the..? Oh.

"We need to stop for the night, Miss Swan," Regina said, "we can't make it back to Storybrooke on fumes." Emma huffed, but agreed to stop at a hotel. When they parked Emma turned to Lily.

"You're not gonna bolt on us, are you?" She asked. Lily shook her head.

"I'd really like to meet my mom and you two seem like my only key," she muttered. Satisfied, Emma got out and the three went inside.

"Three single rooms, please," Emma said.

"I'm sorry, ma'am. We only have one single room left," the clerk informed her. Emma sighed and ran her hands through her hair.

"Fine, one single, one double," she grumbled. The clerk rung her up and Emma paid for one night.

"Check out is at eleven," the clerk said as she handed Emma the key cards. Emma nodded before heading to the elevator.

"So, who gets the single?" Lily asked.

"I'm not putting you two in a room together," Regina said.

"Well I'm not rooming with _you_ ," Lily spat back.

"Okay, okay. Lily, the single is yours. Just. Don't do anything stupid," Emma warned. Lily put her hand up in surrender as she got off the elevator at the second floor. Emma and Regina continued to the third floor.

The two settled in as best they could. "I'm going to go get some ice," Emma said. She exited the room and was halfway down the hall before she realized she'd forgotten the ice bucket. She sighed and went back to the room. “Hey, have you seen the..? Oh.” Emma looked away, blushing furiously. Regina had stripped down to her bra and panties. Regina smirked.

"What, Dear? You think I'm ashamed of this? As a queen, I know a great body when I see one," Regina teased.

"No! You don't have anything to be ashamed of," Emma replied in a small voice, still not looking at Regina. Regina chuckled and sauntered over to Emma. Emma gulped.

"Here's the ice bucket," Regina said in a low voice, handing her the bucket. She winked and turned back to her suitcase. Emma exited the room again and leaned against the wall. Now how was she supposed to sleep without being distracted all night?


	46. No one needs to know

Hook said they should sleep in shifts. Being on second shift together, both Emma and Regina found themselves in the barracks.

"You want top or bottom?" Emma asked.

"I beg your pardon?" Regina exclaimed.

"Bunk. Top or bottom?" Emma asked again, ignoring a blatant insinuation.

"Oh. Bottom bunk," Regina answered.

Emma snorted and muttered, "Should've known." In turn, Regina ignored her back. Emma climbed into the top bunk and flopped down. The bed squeaked dangerously. She continued to try and find a comfortable spot.

"Miss Swan, if you do not stop moving I shall tie you down," Regina warned.

"Ooh. You'd like that, wouldn't you?" Emma asked, her head popping into Regina's view from above.

"Goodnight, Miss Swan," she huffed, turning onto her side, and tried to ignore the infuriating woman above her.

Regina didn't know how long she'd been asleep before she was being shaken awake.

"Regina," Emma's voice was panicked.

"What? What is it?" She snapped. She opened her eyes and saw Emma's face. There was a bit of fear, but also concern being directed _at her_.

"You were crying in your sleep. I didn't... I didn't think you wanted to stay in that nightmare," Emma said softly. Emma was right. She had been having a nightmare, but she didn't know that she cried during them. No one had been around to know. She cleared her throat.

"Well, thank you," she said, "but I wouldn't want to take anymore of your sleep."

Emma sat on the bed.  "It's fine. Do you need anything?" Emma asked, "someone to make you feel protected, maybe?"

"I would never-"

"You would never ask for it. But sometimes it's just nice, you know?" There was a long pause before Emma's face softened even further. "No one needs to know."

Regina hesitated before letting Emma slip into the bottom bunk with her. She wrapped her firm arms around Regina and nuzzled her face into Regina's hair.

"Thank you," Regina whispered.

"Any time."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Regina's a power bottom, you can't change my mind.


	47. Have I entered an alternate universe or did you really just crack a smile for me?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For some reason this one did not come easy to me and I've been putting this particular prompt off. So hopefully I was able to do it justice!
> 
> Save me, my work's webinars are v boring. XD

“You ever feeling like we’re constantly just trying to prevent the next disaster?” Emma asked.

She and Regina were sitting together on a couch on Regina’s back patio— Emma holding her sleeping month old baby brother. She offered to watch him for a few hours while David coaxed Mary Margaret out of the house for a nice dinner.

“Sometimes,” Regina offered, taking a sip of her wine.

“Do you ever just want to get away from it all?”

“Of course, but we all know what happens if I were to cross the town line,” Regina reminded her.

“Right.”

The two sat in silence for a few moments, but Emma was never one for silence.

“I don’t think I ever thanked you,” she said.

“Hm? For what, Dear?”

“For Henry,” Emma told her.

“I think he came from you, Swan,” Regina replied cheekily.

“For the _memories_ of Henry,” Emma emphasized. “You didn’t have to give me so many good ones.”

“Most of my memories of Henry were good. It wasn’t hard to pick them,” Regina said. “Besides, I didn’t know if I was ever going to get to see either of you ever again. I wanted to leave you with only the best.”

Emma smiled softly. “Thanks, Regina.”

“Have I entered an alternate universe or did you really just crack a smile for me?” Regina asked.

“What do you mean?”

“You’ve been brooding since we fought my sister. You haven’t… been your usual charming self,” Regina said.

Emma sighed. “It’s just a lot. I’ve known since Neverland my parents wanted a baby, but sometimes I still don’t think I was prepared. That’s why I offered to take him— to try and bond a little.”

“Emma,” Regina reached over and squeezed her shoulder, “you lost your memories and when they returned, your brother was practically here already. You didn’t have any time to prepare yourself.”

“I’m a grown woman,” Emma pointed out. “It shouldn’t bother me.”

“I never adopted another child, because Henry was enough for me, but all the parenting books say that it takes time for older siblings to adjust to a new member of the family. Just because you’re almost 30 doesn’t make that any less real for you. Especially since he will get to be raised by them while you weren’t. That’s a whole extra layer of emotions to process.”

Emma exhaled heavily. “Wow… I didn’t know how much I needed to hear someone say that.”

“It’s about time someone said it. Your parents and I are on better terms now, but I do believe they neglected to think about how this would affect you,” Regina said.

Emma looked down at her baby brother and back up at Regina before shrugging. “At least he’s cute.”

Regina laughed. “If his sister is any indication, he’ll only get more attractive.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it ends abruptly but I'm leaving Emma's reaction to your imagination. ;p


	48. Boo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's always Halloween season

Emma wasn't much for parties. She'd only really crashed them in high school-- she was never personally invited. Storybrooke was different. She was always invited and was usually somewhat of the guest of honor, so she was glad that this Friday was just a party and not a "thank the Savior" celebration. This Friday was Storybrooke's Halloween Fest. She didn't know why the town needed more scary things, but she held her tongue, because Henry seemed really excited.

"What are you going as, Ma?" He asked.

"Going as?"

"You have to dress up! It's a rule!" Henry insisted.

"Who's rule?" Emma questioned, raising an eyebrow. Henry crossed his arms.

"Mine," he admitted. She grinned.

"Okay, kid. I'll dress up," she agreed. In the end, she decided on Princess Leia as a nod to her cover from when she and Hook went back in time. She remembered to tell Henry, although she didn't know what he was planning.

When she arrived, she scanned the crowd and quickly found him standing in front of a booth.

"Hey, kid!" She greeted. He turned to face her.

"Greetings, sister Leia!" Henry joked. Emma scrutinized his look for a moment.

"All right, Luke... What else are you?" She asked. Suddenly, someone poked her sides from behind. Emma yelped and twisted around.

"Boo," Regina said, chuckling at Emma's startled face.

"Regina!" Emma squealed, her heart rate still elevated.

"Sorry, Emma," Regina stifled another laugh. Emma broke out into a smile.

"It's okay," she replied as she looked at Regina, taking in her vampire costume. "Oh! I get it now! Henry's a vampire Luke Skywalker!"

"Yes, Henry insisted, but I still don't quite know why," Regina admitted.

"Seriously?" Emma motioned to herself, "I'm Leia. You know, Luke Skywalker's sister in Star Wars?" Regina shook her head.

"I didn't keep up with cinematic crazes those twenty-eight years," she confessed.

"Well, we're going to have to change that!" Emma said determinedly. Regina smiled and nodded in agreement. "It's a nice blend of costume, kid."

"I'm a perfect balance between my two moms," he exclaimed with a wide smile. Emma chuckled.

"That you are," she agreed. She slung an arm around his shoulders and grabbed Regina's hand, "come on, you two. I think it's time for some caramel apples."


	49. Well this is awkward…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Second to last chapter, everyone!
> 
> Happy Mother's Day to everyone who celebrates!

Emma was nervous. She and Regina had started to get closer after all the chaos died down just a bit. Ruby had finally convinced her to ask Regina out and now… she felt like she wanted to vomit. She’d bought two tickets to some strange band called The Weird Sisters upon Ruby’s insistence.

_“Come on, Ems. They’re cool. Trust me. It’s not like Regina will be paying attention to the music anyway. I’m helping you pick your outfit.”_

So here she was, sitting in her car in front of Regina’s house, her slightly sweaty hands gripping the two tickets in her pocket, wrinkling them just a bit.

“You can do this, Swan,” she whispered to herself.

With a final deep breath she got out of the yellow bug and made her way to the front door. She knocked, but didn’t have to wait very long.

“Emma,” Regina greeted, a bright smile on her face.

Emma could feel herself melting, just a little, seeing Regina’s face light up.

“Hey, Regina,” Emma started. “I just dropped by to see…” she gripped the tickets a little tighter before bringing them out, “… to see if you wanted to go see The Weird Sisters with me?”

Regina’s smile faltered. “Well this is awkward…”

Emma took a step back, the nauseous feeling returning. “It doesn’t have to be a date, it can just—”

“It’s awkward because I bought two tickets and was going to ask _you_ to go,” Regina interrupted, “as a date.”

“Wh- really?” Emma asked.

Regina nodded. “But I heard Mulan and Aurora were looking for something fun to do together. I could always give them my tickets.”

Emma let out a sigh of relief. “So… I’ll pick you up at seven?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, the Weird Sisters exist in this universe. Of course they do. Is anyone surprised? ;)


	50. Writer’s preference

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “How we need another soul to cling to, another body to keep us warm. To rest and trust; to give your soul in confidence: I need this, I need someone to pour myself into.”  
> ― Sylvia Plath

It was a cold and rainy day. Henry started college a few months ago, leaving Regina alone in that giant mansion of hers. Emma visited quite regularly and today was no exception.

“Not a whole lot to do outside,” Emma told her. Emma had been keeping herself busy by re-landscaping Regina’s backyard. She claimed to only be visiting so often to finish the yard— it had nothing to do with the fact that she also missed Henry and, quite frankly, enjoyed the company of a certain brunette.

“It’s supposed to rain all day,” Regina commented. She was in loungewear. Something that Emma hadn’t been used to at first, but quickly got comfortable with. Extremely comfortable. Had Regina _seen_ herself in leggings?

“I thought I’d stop by just to check on you,” Emma said.

Regina opened the door wider and ushered Emma inside.

“Shoes. Jacket,” Regina reminded her.

Emma doffed her jacket, hanging it on the coat rack, and slipped out of her shoes before following Regina into the kitchen.

“Tea? Wait, no. Hot chocolate,” Regina amended.

Emma gave her a soft smile. “I’ll get the cinnamon.”

Soon they were both settled comfortably on the couch, with Regina nestled into Emma’s side, Emma’s arm around her.

They never spoke about moments such as these. In the time Henry had been gone, they’d grown closer and— maybe, just maybe— more attached to one another.

Regina would find herself buying little things that reminded her of Emma and putting them in the guest room for when Emma would spend the night. She didn’t think Emma would notice, but Emma always did.

Emma would find herself calling Regina for no reason except to hear her voice. Not that she told her that… no, there was always an excuse.

As they sat quietly, listening to the rain _pitter patter_ on the roof, Emma found herself pulling Regina just a little closer and Regina found herself settling in that much more.

Once they’d both finished their beverages, that left their hands free, meaning Emma was absentmindedly playing with Regina’s hair.

The combination of the rain and Emma’s soothing fingers had Regina drifting sleepily in and out of consciousness. Her head rested heavily on Emma’s shoulder and just as she was falling into a deeper sleep, she felt Emma’s soft lips brush against her forehead and a murmured _I love you_ being pressed into her hair.

She smiled and sighed, letting the warmth of the moment wash over her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt #50 gave me lots of wiggle room. Being my preference, I could write anything I wanted to. Due to quarantine I haven't had as many "soft" moments in the last 8 weeks, so I decided to write one.
> 
> Thanks to Liseo and waknatious for your constant comments! They mean the world to me!
> 
> My shout outs wouldn't be complete without thanking omunk (again!). She's been one of the people keeping me grounded during this uncertain time and I can't thank her enough, ever. <3


End file.
